VESA Video Modes

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Under legacy BIOS (and CSM-capable UEFI systems in legacy BIOS mode) you can access the video card functions using the standardized VESA/VBE functions.

In UEFI mode, instead, one uses the GOP (Graphics Output Protocol) to access the video card in a standardized way.

Contents

VESA Functions

You'll want to look in the VESA VBE docs for these functions: All VESA functions return 0x4F in AL if they are supported and use AH as a status flag, with 0x00 being success. This means that you should check that AX is 0x004F after each VESA call to see if it succeeded.

INT 0x10, AX=0x4F00
Get Controller Info. This is the one that returns the array of all supported video modes.
struct VbeInfoBlock {
   char     VbeSignature[4];         // == "VESA"
   uint16_t VbeVersion;              // == 0x0300 for VBE 3.0
   uint16_t OemStringPtr[2];         // isa vbeFarPtr
   uint8_t  Capabilities[4];
   uint16_t VideoModePtr[2];         // isa vbeFarPtr
   uint16_t TotalMemory;             // as # of 64KB blocks
   uint8_t  Reserved[492];
} __attribute__((packed));
 
VbeInfoBlock *vib = dos_alloc(512);
v86_bios(0x10, {ax:0x4f00, es:SEG(vib), di:OFF(vib)}, &out);
if (out.ax!=0x004f) die("Something wrong with VBE get info");

In assembly(nasm):

struc VesaInfoBlock				;	VesaInfoBlock_size = 512 bytes
	.Signature		resb 4		;	must be 'VESA'
	.Version		resw 1
	.OEMNamePtr		resd 1
	.Capabilities		resd 1
 
	.VideoModesOffset	resw 1
	.VideoModesSegment	resw 1
 
	.CountOf64KBlocks	resw 1
	.OEMSoftwareRevision	resw 1
	.OEMVendorNamePtr	resd 1
	.OEMProductNamePtr	resd 1
	.OEMProductRevisionPtr	resd 1
	.Reserved		resb 222
	.OEMData		resb 256
endstruc
 
Main:
	push ds
	pop es
	mov di, VesaInfoBlockBuffer
	call get_vesa_info
	jmp $
 
;	in:
;		es:di - 512-byte buffer
;	out:
;		cf - set on error
get_vesa_info:
	clc
	mov ax, 0x4f00
	int 0x10
	cmp ax, 0x004f
	jne .failed
	ret
	.failed:
		stc
		ret
 
ALIGN(4)
 
	VesaInfoBlockBuffer: istruc VesaInfoBlock
		at VesaInfoBlock.Signature,				db "VESA"
		times 508 db 0
	iend

INT 0x10, AX=0x4F01, CX=mode, ES:DI=256 byte buffer

Get Mode Info. Call this for each member of the mode array to find out the details of that mode. The 256 byte buffer will be filled by the mode info block.
struct vbe_mode_info_structure {
	uint16_t attributes;		// deprecated, only bit 7 should be of interest to you, and it indicates the mode supports a linear frame buffer.
	uint8_t window_a;			// deprecated
	uint8_t window_b;			// deprecated
	uint16_t granularity;		// deprecated; used while calculating bank numbers
	uint16_t window_size;
	uint16_t segment_a;
	uint16_t segment_b;
	uint32_t win_func_ptr;		// deprecated; used to switch banks from protected mode without returning to real mode
	uint16_t pitch;			// number of bytes per horizontal line
	uint16_t width;			// width in pixels
	uint16_t height;			// height in pixels
	uint8_t w_char;			// unused...
	uint8_t y_char;			// ...
	uint8_t planes;
	uint8_t bpp;			// bits per pixel in this mode
	uint8_t banks;			// deprecated; total number of banks in this mode
	uint8_t memory_model;
	uint8_t bank_size;		// deprecated; size of a bank, almost always 64 KB but may be 16 KB...
	uint8_t image_pages;
	uint8_t reserved0;
 
	uint8_t red_mask;
	uint8_t red_position;
	uint8_t green_mask;
	uint8_t green_position;
	uint8_t blue_mask;
	uint8_t blue_position;
	uint8_t reserved_mask;
	uint8_t reserved_position;
	uint8_t direct_color_attributes;
 
	uint32_t framebuffer;		// physical address of the linear frame buffer; write here to draw to the screen
	uint32_t off_screen_mem_off;
	uint16_t off_screen_mem_size;	// size of memory in the framebuffer but not being displayed on the screen
	uint8_t reserved1[206];
} __attribute__ ((packed));

In assembly(nasm):

struc VesaModeInfoBlock				;	VesaModeInfoBlock_size = 256 bytes
	.ModeAttributes		resw 1
	.FirstWindowAttributes	resb 1
	.SecondWindowAttributes	resb 1
	.WindowGranularity	resw 1		;	in KB
	.WindowSize		resw 1		;	in KB
	.FirstWindowSegment	resw 1		;	0 if not supported
	.SecondWindowSegment	resw 1		;	0 if not supported
	.WindowFunctionPtr	resd 1
	.BytesPerScanLine	resw 1
 
	;	Added in Revision 1.2
	.Width			resw 1		;	in pixels(graphics)/columns(text)
	.Height			resw 1		;	in pixels(graphics)/columns(text)
	.CharWidth		resb 1		;	in pixels
	.CharHeight		resb 1		;	in pixels
	.PlanesCount		resb 1
	.BitsPerPixel		resb 1
	.BanksCount		resb 1
	.MemoryModel		resb 1		;	http://www.ctyme.com/intr/rb-0274.htm#Table82
	.BankSize		resb 1		;	in KB
	.ImagePagesCount	resb 1		;	count - 1
	.Reserved1		resb 1		;	equals 0 in Revision 1.0-2.0, 1 in 3.0
 
	.RedMaskSize		resb 1
	.RedFieldPosition	resb 1
	.GreenMaskSize		resb 1
	.GreenFieldPosition	resb 1
	.BlueMaskSize		resb 1
	.BlueFieldPosition	resb 1
	.ReservedMaskSize	resb 1
	.ReservedMaskPosition	resb 1
	.DirectColorModeInfo	resb 1
 
	;	Added in Revision 2.0
	.LFBAddress		resd 1
	.OffscreenMemoryOffset	resd 1
	.OffscreenMemorySize	resw 1		;	in KB
	.Reserved2		resb 206	;	available in Revision 3.0, but useless for now
endstruc
 
Main:
	; after getting VesaInfoBlock:
	push word [VesaInfoBlockBuffer + VesaInfoBlock.VideoModesSegment]
	pop es
	mov di, VesaModeInfoBlockBuffer
	mov bx, [VesaInfoBlockBuffer + VesaInfoBlock.VideoModesOffset]	;	get video modes list address
	mov cx, [bx]							;	get first video mode number
	cmp cx, 0xffff							;	vesa modes list empty
	je .NoModes
	call get_vesa_mode_info
.NoModes:
	jmp $
 
 
;	in:
;		cx - VESA mode number
;		es:di - 256-byte buffer
;	out:
;		cf - set on error
get_vesa_mode_info:
	clc
	mov ax, 0x4f01
	int 0x10
	cmp ax, 0x004f
	jne .failed
	ret
	.failed:
		stc
		ret
 
ALIGN(4)
 
VesaModeInfoBlockBuffer:	istruc VesaModeInfoBlock
		times VesaModeInfoBlock_size db 0
	iend

INT 0x10, AX=0x4F02, BX=mode, ES:DI=CRTCInfoBlock

Set Video Mode. Call this with the mode number you decide to use. If you choose a mode that makes use of a linear framebuffer, you should OR the mode number with 0x4000. This sets the "Use LFB" bit in the mode number. Set the bit 11 of BX to instruct the BIOS to use the passed CRTCInfoBlock structure, see the specification for more information.
BIOSs can switch to protected mode to implement this, and might reset the GDT. This is observable on QEMU 2.2.x.

Will it work with Bochs?

For VBE to work in Bochs you need the "VGABIOS-lgpl" BIOS and have a version of Bochs that was compiled with the --enable-vbe option... See Vesa Information in Bochs thread for more info. Also read about Bochs Graphics Adaptor.

How to pick the mode I wish?

VESA stopped assigning codes for video modes long ago -- instead they standardized a much better solution: you can query the video card for what modes it supports, and query it about the attributes of each mode. In your OS, you can have a function that you call with a desired width, height, and depth, and it returns the video mode number for it (or the closest match). Then, just set that mode

Here's a sample code, assuming you have a VirtualMonitor already ... Basically, you will scan the 'modes list' referenced by the VbeInfoBlock.videomodes[] and then call 'get mode info' for each mode. You can then compare width, height and colordepth of each mode with the desired one.

uint16_t findMode(int x, int y, int d)
{
  struct VbeInfoBlock *ctrl = (VbeInfoBlock *)0x2000;
  struct ModeInfoBlock *inf = (ModeInfoBlock *)0x3000;
  uint16_t *modes;
  int i;
  uint16_t best = 0x13;
  int pixdiff, bestpixdiff = DIFF(320 * 200, x * y);
  int depthdiff, bestdepthdiff = 8 >= d ? 8 - d : (d - 8) * 2;
 
  strncpy(ctrl->VbeSignature, "VBE2", 4);
  intV86(0x10, "ax,es:di", 0x4F00, 0, ctrl); // Get Controller Info
  if ( (uint16_t)v86.tss.eax != 0x004F ) return best;
 
  modes = (uint16_t*)REALPTR(ctrl->VideoModePtr);
  for ( i = 0 ; modes[i] != 0xFFFF ; ++i ) {
      intV86(0x10, "ax,cx,es:di", 0x4F01, modes[i], 0, inf); // Get Mode Info
 
      if ( (uint16_t)v86.tss.eax != 0x004F ) continue;
 
      // Check if this is a graphics mode with linear frame buffer support
      if ( (inf->attributes & 0x90) != 0x90 ) continue;
 
      // Check if this is a packed pixel or direct color mode
      if ( inf->memory_model != 4 && inf->memory_model != 6 ) continue;
 
      // Check if this is exactly the mode we're looking for
      if ( x == inf->XResolution && y == inf->YResolution &&
          d == inf->BitsPerPixel ) return modes[i];
 
      // Otherwise, compare to the closest match so far, remember if best
      pixdiff = DIFF(inf->Xres * inf->Yres, x * y);
      depthdiff = (inf->bpp >= d)? inf->bpp - d : (d - inf->bpp) * 2;
      if ( bestpixdiff > pixdiff ||
          (bestpixdiff == pixdiff && bestdepthdiff > depthdiff) ) {
        best = modes[i];
        bestpixdiff = pixdiff;
        bestdepthdiff = depthdiff;
      }
  }
  if ( x == 640 && y == 480 && d == 1 ) return 0x11;
  return best;
}

Common Mistakes

There's some mistakes that beginners seem to make fairly often when they first start working with VBE.

VESA Defined Mode Numbers

For older versions of the VBE specification (VBE 1.0, VBE 1.1 and VBE 1.2) VESA defined some standard mode numbers. For example, mode 0x0113 was 800 * 600 * 15-bpp. In VBE 2.0 these mode numbers were deprecated - VESA decided not to define any more of them, told video card manufacturers they don't need to use the old standard mode numbers, and told programmers to search for the mode they want without relying on any of the old standard mode numbers. Despite this, it's still possible to find obsolete information on the internet suggesting to use these old standard mode numbers.

Use "Bytes Between Lines"

People tend to assume that pixel data is contiguous (e.g. line 1, then line 2, then line 3, ...). This isn't always the case, and for a variety of reasons there may be padding between lines (e.g. line 1, padding, then line 2, padding, then line 3, ...). The "Get Mode Information" VBE function returns the number of bytes between lines, and this value should be used. For example, for a 640 * 480 * 16-bpp video mode, the offset of a line is found by "offset = line * bytes_per_line" and not by "offset = line * (640 * 2)". In the same way, you can't use one "rep stosb/w/d/q" or "memset()" to fill the entire display, and you should fill each line separately to avoid writing to any padding.

Note that (for VBE 3.0) there may be 2 "bytes between lines" values returned by the "Get Mode Information" VBE function. The first one is used when the video mode is setup for bank switching and the second one is used when linear frame buffer is being used. For older versions of VBE there is no "bytes between lines for linear frame buffer" value, and the "bytes between lines for bank switched" value is used for both bank switching and linear frame buffer.

Don't Assume Pixel Formats

Usually pixel data is in "RGB" format, but this isn't always the case. A pixel can be in "BGR" format or anything else, and may not even use Red, Green and Blue components - it could use "YUV" where there's one luma/brightness component (Y) and two chrominance (UV) components. Always check the "memory_model" field and (for 15-bpp and higher video modes) all of the "component mask" and "field position" fields (e.g. "red_mask_size", "red_field_position", etc) in the structure returned by the "Get Mode Information" VBE function.

Don't Assume Unused Bits Are Unused

For some colour depths there's "unused" bits in the pixel data (one "unused" bit per pixel in 15-bpp modes, and 8 "unused" bits per pixel for 32-bpp modes). These unused bits may actually be used by some video cards for a variety of extra features. For one example, I know of a video card where (in 15-bpp modes) if the highest/unused bit is set then it uses the lowest 8 bits of the pixel data as an index into the palette.

Don't Assume VGA Compatibility

For 8-bpp video modes people assume that they can use the VGA I/O ports to change the palette. It's much better to use the VBE functions instead, but if you don't then at least test if the video mode uses VGA I/O ports by testing the "VGA compatible mode" flag (bit 5) in "mode_attributes" field returned by the "Get Mode Information" VBE function.

In a similar way, for 4-bpp "planar" video modes some people assume that the VGA I/O ports can be used to switch between planes rather than testing if the "VGA compatible mode" flag is set first.

Don't Assume The Monitor Supports A Video Mode

We all like pretty graphics and high resolution video modes. Unfortunately, if VBE says that a video mode is supported by the video card it does not mean that the video mode is also supported by the monitor. VESA has defined 2 video mode timings that are meant to be supported by all monitors (640 * 480 standard VGA timing and 720 * 480 standard VGA timing). For all other video modes you should either use EDID to find out if the monitor supports the video mode's timing (or not), or provide a way for the user to test the video mode and change it if it doesn't work. This is the approach used by Windows, with a dialog box appearing with the option to accept or revert. No action within 15 seconds reverts. Just an idea ;).

Using EDID for this purpose is complicated. Unless you provide a "CRTC information block" structure when you set the video mode you can't be entirely sure what timing the video card will use; and only some video cards that support VBE 3.0 support the "CRTC information" correctly.

The other alternative is to only ever use video modes that (should) use 640 * 480 and 720 * 480 standard VGA timing. For video modes with lower horizontal resolutions the video card sends the each pixel twice, and for video modes with lower vertical resolutions the video card sends the each row of pixels twice (called "double scanning"); and in both cases the video timing is the same as it would be for the corresponding higher resolution video mode. This gives the following list of "safe" resolutions:

  • 720 * 480
  • 640 * 480
  • 360 * 480 (actually uses "720 * 480" timing)
  • 320 * 480 (actually uses "640 * 480" timing)
  • 720 * 240 (actually uses "720 * 480" timing)
  • 640 * 240 (actually uses "640 * 480" timing)
  • 360 * 240 (actually uses "720 * 480" timing)
  • 320 * 240 (actually uses "640 * 480" timing)

Colour depth doesn't/shouldn't effect the video timing signals. This means that the best possible safe video mode would be 720 * 480 * 24/32-bpp.

Don't Read From Video Memory

Reading from the video memory is slooow! Use double buffering instead.

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